OT: Emoni Bates to the NBA Draft
He's one-and-done at EMU. He averaged 19.2 PPG and the team went 8-23.
LINK.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:13 AM ^
Big shocker there
If he's lucky, he'll end up with Kevin Durant who'll give him a multitude of advanced tutorials on how to be a selfish prick. KD will simply finish the education EBs dad started
April 25th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
Yeah, being mentored by one of the most successful basketball players ever would be terrible for Bates. He might end up like KD, a perennial all-star and sure fire hall-of-famer. I bet he'll really regret not staying another 2 years at Eastern.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
In other news, rain is wet.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
I'm hearing that his father will create a new professional hoops league so he can be selected #1 overall.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
Breakaway league with Ball's dad is the rumor.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Ypsi Pro League, yes?
April 24th, 2023 at 12:34 PM ^
Perfect! 8 team league comprised of Ypsi, Romulus, Wyandotte, Ecorse, Livonia, Canton, Dearborn, and Inkster. Possible expansion to Belleville, Allen Park, and Dearborn Heights pending fully completed application packages.
Strong rumors that Romulus is putting together a strong offer involving their current #1 pick, multiple future #1 picks, and the rights to Mateen Cleaves in an effort to obtain the top overall pick.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:55 PM ^
Don't forget Melvindale. Go Cardinals!
April 25th, 2023 at 12:51 PM ^
I'd go with. Lincoln Park. Westland. Garden City. Taylor. Ypsilanti. Roseville. Warren. Detroit. Call it Belle Isle Players.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:58 PM ^
Had to login to upvote this comment... Well played, naked-one.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
Wish him the best. My guess is he will not make it as he once was foretold to be.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
Take a flyer on him in the 2nd, why not.....
April 24th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
It’s OT season, so why not play the “what if” game? How would he have affected Michigan’s season had he transferred here?
April 24th, 2023 at 11:38 AM ^
Have you seen how people dogged Jett, who was a better all-around player this year IMO? Those some people would've been relentless on the kid as the season probably would've played out the same way.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
EDIT: Meant to be a reply to FishBulb's comment above not yours, my bad
Emoni Bates takes Jett and Dickinson out for a night on the town leading to shenanigans in Ypsilanti and all 3 getting suspended.
We get a TRIPLE Ewing effect, and make a run to win the B1G Tourney and get in to March Madness led by Kobe's 20 ppg tear through the league and a renewed defensive focus. The suspensions end, and they play in the Sweet 16 game. In a disjointed game, we lose to an even streakier UConn team on their way to The Championship. Everyone is mad at Juwan.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
He shot 40% from 2 and 33% from 3 taking 16 shots per game. He averaged 2.5 turnovers per game and only 1.4 assists per game. He had a lower ORTG than Terrance Williams and EMU went 8-23.
Pretty good argument that Michigan’s season would’ve been worse and more drama filled with him on the roster.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
What are the odds he doesn’t get drafted?
My guess is.. mid second round.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:50 AM ^
Sorta crazy he's going to likely go from "The Next LeBron" to a guy going in the 2nd round and probably playing in the G League for a spell.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
If Bates had gone to IMG or Montverde or a school like that, I honestly think he would've still been in that convo. Staying in Ypsi with his dad and creating that fake school completely stunted his mental, physical, and basketball growth. Going away and playing for a serious coach with other serious players, learning to play in a system, and get his mind and body right would've been the best thing for him
April 24th, 2023 at 12:12 PM ^
I follow a Piston's reddit after Ivey and Duren were drafted. People are stoked about both of them and Cunningham as well if he can keep healthy. But a consistent criticism of players (Wiseman especially) is that they aren't developed at all. Our society loves the young superstar who comes out of nowhere to save the world (Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, etc.) We all have a hidden talent that will make us special. It turns out that success takes hard work AND luck whether you are a 6'9" uber-athlete or not.
If Blue@LSU ever gets bored again it'd be interesting to see the NBA success of players who go straight to the pros, vs. one and dones vs. guys who played a few years in college.
Bates' teammate at Memphis, Duren, seems to be doing well with only one year of college ball.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
He definitely would have turned out better if he'd spent his last two years of high school at a real school (and didn't enroll a year early in college). But he has more physical limitations than people realized when he was 15. He's not that athletic. His quickness, lateral agility and leaping ability are just OK. He's a tall shooter, and that's definitely valuable, but he may never be a great defender and probably never a great ballhandler, either. He hasn't shown much as a passer. He was never going to be an all-around stud like LeBron.
Yeah, his play at EMU sort of solidified that ceiling for me. He didn't look all that more athletic than your average MAC player and his ORating was 100.4 despite a usage rate of 30%. He had a solid defensive rebounding rate but that was seemingly due in no small part to the fact he's 6' 10" on a team full of 6' 4"-and-under guys and had an OR rate similar to EMU's PG and below guys like Will Tschetter and Kobe Bufkin. He didn't pass the ball much and turned the ball over on 15% of his possessions, which again is somewhat understandable as a ball-dominant player but still not great for a guy once projected to be a franchise guy. And he's just bad on defense due in part to limitations athletically and his overall size (he's way too skinny to defense burly PFs/Cs and too slow to track SFs) and also somewhat to effort.
Again, I think he's skilled enough with his size that he'll play in the NBA but it was clear even in HS he wasn't a transcendent guy.
He'd have been better, though I do think some of his limitations still showed up. He's not an uber-elite athlete and while he's a good playmaker he doesn't have amazing vision or the physicality to win going toward the hoop. He'd probably be a lottery pick had he gone somewhere else but his limitations were somewhat papered over by the hype.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:59 AM ^
I'm guessing the G League will be a good environment for him--consistent coaching, strong competition, and an expectation to do the work required.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
Bates has so much natural talent, but it just feels like there are too many factors in his control that are going to prevent him from reaching his peak. I don't think a team wants to draft a kid who needs so many resources on and off the court to get where he could be
April 24th, 2023 at 12:12 PM ^
You're right, he has SO much natural talent, he's been blessed by God in that respect.
But he also feels like he's going to be a classic case of "the saddest words of tongue or pen, what might have been."
April 24th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
Elite skilled player joins team, puts up great stats and team finishes with worst record than prior season. Actually sounds like a perfect fit for an NBA team.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Deep dive into his stats, other than PPG they aren’t that great either playing in the MAC.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Such a tragic story of a p.o.s. parent ruining a kid's opportunity to achieve greatness. Half the talent of Dramond with twice the drama. An NBA franchise would be insane to take a chance on him.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
The Grizz have the 45th and 56th picks. That would seem appropriate for several reasons.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
No matter what happens to him, at least MSU fans will always have that verbal commitment he gave.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:29 PM ^
When they almost beat us last fall there fans saying that EMU would be good enough to win the MAC.
April 24th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
And I remember getting negged for saying he’s a high-usage NBA-styler on a bad team. Not sure what the neg was for…8-23, and 19 ppg. NBA will love him.
I'm guessing you don't watch any NBA and haven't for a long time. The league is insanely data driven and offenses are more efficient than they've ever been. Emoni's game does not translate to the NBA at all. He will have to become an entirely different player to have any chance of a pro career.
I still think he has a decent future in the NBA, if he starts getting better advice and puts the work in. Hopefully his body will start to fill out a little.
I agree with the 2nd round projection. Worth the chance if he sounds motivated and is OK with not seeing immediate minutes.
It's hard to believe he's only 19. I feel like we've been reading about him for decades, like one of those surreal penny-a-month Charles Dickens serial novels that went on and on and on, tattered chapters making their way around the neighborhood like shared Netflix login details before the Great Crackdown. Bates is surely the Nicholas Nickleby of this day and age.
Good luck to him. I hope he succeeds.
He needs to eat more Big Mac's to survive in the NBA. He is currently approximately 94 pounds.
I remember after his freshman year at Lincoln there were scout-type people saying “if he was eligible he’d be a first round pick right now at age-15”